Google fined 50 million Euros in France over GDPR failures

France's privacy watchdog today finedGoogle LLC 50 million euros, or about $57 million, for breaching the General Data Protection Regulation that the European Union passed a year ago. Google is the first major USA tech company to be penalized since these regulations were implemented by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018.

Among other things, information about the use of the collected data and the storage period for the user are not easily accessible enough, said the authority.

The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the biggest shake-up of data privacy laws in more than two decades, came into force in May. Google has issued a statement pledging to meet the expectations of Europe and the GDPR. It launched the investigation in response to complaints from two nonprofit privacy groups, None Of Your Business and La Quadrature du Net, that were filed last May within days of GDPR being enacted into law.

A Google spokesperson said the digital giant is now studying the decision to determine its next steps.

Schrems had accusedGoogle of securing "forced consent" via its Android mobile operating software through the use of pop-up boxes online or on its apps which imply that its services will not be available unless the conditions of use are accepted.

CNIL found that Google made it hard for users to access information about data processing and data storage periods, and about how this data was used for ad personalization.

Even though many tech multinationals like Google are headquartered in the USA, they still have to comply with the new rules because they have millions of users in Europe.

Today's decision comes less than a year after the CNIL started examining how Google collects data on Android.

Google has been fined for not having "legal basis" for processing personal data in France. In recent years, European Union officials have penalized Apple for its tax practices, probed Facebook for multiple privacy scandals and slapped Google with a record-breaking fine on charges it sought to undermine its corporate rivals.

Furthermore, Google violated the GDPR by asking users to agree to its terms of service and to the processing of their data before they could create an account.

The group recently filed complaints against streaming services Apple Music, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Google YouTube, Soundcloud, Spotify, DAZN and Filmmit, alleging they have failed respond adequately to users' requests for access to data held on them.

RELATED NEWS

Citing Threats From Trump, Cohen Postpones Testimony
Cohen to appear before both Committees, and we remain engaged with his counsel about his upcoming appearances", they said. Prosecutors say Trump directed Cohen to make the payments as a way to quash potential scandals during the campaign. 1/25/2019

New Story Mode Details Revealed for Mortal Kombat 11
Today during the games reveal event in Los Angeles we learned even more about the 11th game in the iconic video game franchise. You can read a rundown of the game's new features below as posted in the press release. 1/25/2019

De Jong Joins Barcelona From Ajax For $85M
Barcelona have signed Frenkie de Jong from Ajax in a deal worth an initial €75 million, plus a further €11m in variables. Barça will pay 75 million euros for the Dutch worldwide , with another 11 million due in potential add-ons. 1/25/2019

Israel hits Iranian and Syrian targets
Iran has denied that any of its soldiers were killed, but recent statements don't suggest Teheran is backing down from the fight. Aziz Nasirzadeh said his country was "fully ready and impatient to confront the Zionist regime and eliminate it from the earth". 1/24/2019

AP CM says EVMs turning out to be big threat to democracy
A red-faced Congress sought to distance itself, insisting that 50 per cent VVPATs should be used in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He said he met a prominent Indian journalist and told him the whole story about the alleged EVM rigging. 1/23/2019

Dollar slips vs yen on growth worries, trade tensions
The World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have also downgraded their world growth forecasts. Of the nations in the G7, only the United States and Canada are expected to outpace... 1/23/2019

Taliban attack Afghan security compound, scores killed
According to the Associated Press (AP), the new round of U.S. -Taliban negotiations is expected to carry into Tuesday. The blast shattered glass inside his house, he said, adding that some of his family members had been injured. 1/23/2019

Chinese economy powering ahead, fulfilling 2018 targets
Reportedly, China's economic growth is going to slow down further this year, with analysts predicting a 6% annual growth in 2019. A total of 15.23 million babies were born past year in China, a drop by about two million from that of 2017, the data said . 1/23/2019

Australian Open: Serena Williams beats Halep
Djokovic's victory means he is guaranteed to stay world number one when the new rankings are released after the tournament. Because while it's one thing to beat unseeded players to tears, it's another altogether to play the current world No. 1. 1/23/2019

How to Watch Serena Williams vs. Karolina Pliskova
Williams' started slowly when she allowed Halep to bring up three break points in the opening game, conceding with a double fault. Halep broke again to take a set off Williams, celebrating with a fired-up double fist pump. 1/23/2019

Here's where to watch the Oscars nominations
Some several minutes later, her co-star Yalitza Aparicio , as the family's maid, Cleo, was nominated for Best Actress. In the realm of snubs, none stung quite so loudly as Bradley Cooper failing to show up on the Best Director list. 1/23/2019

USA will seek extradition of Huawei CFO from Canada
Meng has been living under house arrest in her Vancouver mansion while her case is under deliberation. "It's an abuse of the bilateral extradition treaty between the United States and Canada", Hua said. 1/23/2019

Sen. Kamala Harris jumps into presidential race
It wasn't long before she made a decision to disrupt the political landscape again by launching a bid for president in 1972. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders , who unsuccessfully sought the 2016 Democratic nomination, is also considering a campaign. 1/22/2019